THE flagship of the Royal Navy was waved out of Portsmouth on her final voyage yesterday – soon to be turned into razorblades.

Britain’s most expensive warship at £220million and spearhead of the Iraq invasion in 2003, the Ark Royal is suffering the humiliation of being towed to a scrapyard in Turkey.

The 22,000-ton ship – launched by the Queen Mother on the Tyne in 1981 – was axed two years ago and her Harrier warplanes sold cheaply to the US for spares.

This left Britain without an aircraft carrier for a decade – a decision described by one expert yesterday as a “national scandal”. In 2011, the Royal Navy had to use the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean for air raids on Libya.

Former crew members – among the hundreds who lined the seafront to watch her last journey – showed their feelings by wearing black armbands.

Tugs sounded their horns as the crowds waved Union flags in silence.

The MoD has sold the Ark Royal for £2.9million to recycling firm Leyal.

She will journey 2,000 miles to Izmir where her sister ship, the Falklands veteran HMS Invincible, was scrapped.

The MoD rejected plans to make her a diving wreck, a casino off Hong Kong, a heliport for London and a nightclub and school in China, claiming they were “not feasible or appropriate”.

Ark Royal's rusting name will soon be scrap metal in the recycling project

The whole demise of HMS Ark Royal and her Harriers has been a national disgrace.

Mike Critchley, the publisher of Warship World magazine

But former crew member John Mayer, 47, from Fareham, Hants, said of the decision to scrap her: “It was awful, she should have been turned into a museum. She was fantastic, iconic.” Two new aircraft carriers will not be ready before 2020.

Former naval officer Mike Critchley, the publisher of Warship World magazine, said: “The whole demise of HMS Ark Royal and her Harriers has been a national disgrace.

“The aircraft, in particular, were sold at a ridiculously low price, leaving us without any proper aviation capability.

“Who saw the Falklands war coming? Who saw the Iraq war coming? We’re still an island nation and we still import 95 per cent of our oil and gas. For that we need the Royal Navy to protect us and we need aircraft to protect ships.

“The Government is taking a huge risk. It’s a bit like agreeing you need fire insurance at home but cancelling it for a 10-year gap.”

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “Retiring her was a difficult decision but it was the right one that has saved over £100million. A decommissioning ceremony was held in March 2011 to pay tribute to her 31 years service.”